Apparatus for winding a core and splitting multistrand wires

ABSTRACT

A flat multistrand wire is tightly wrapped around a core through utilization of a shuttle having a passage within which the multistrand wire is disposed during winding. The apparatus includes a device for separating each end of the strands of the wire after the wire has been tightly wrapped around the core.

United States Patent Beumer et al.

[ 5] Feb.22, 1972 [54] APPARATUS FOR WINDING A CORE AND SPLITTING MULTISTRAND WIRES [72] inventors: Karl W. Beumer, Poughkeepsie; Gerard M. Geany, Somers; John A. Haran, Peekskill; Edward P. l-lecker; George E. Nyman; Robert E. Post, Poughkeepsie, all ofN.Y.

[73] Assignee: international Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY.

[22] Filed: July 17,1968

21 Appl. No.: 745,459

[52] US. Cl. 242/4 B, 29/38 C, 140/1, 140/71 [51] Int. Cl ..H0li 41/08 [58] Field of Search ..242/4, 5, 6; 29/38 C; 140/1, 140/71 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,653,771 9/ 1953 Turner ..242/4 2,726,817 12/1955 Barrows ..242/4 2,793,818 5/1957 Clarke et al. .242/4 3,000,580 9/1961 Matovich, Jr... ...242/4 3,383,059 5/ 1968 Fahrbach ..242/4 Primary Examiner-Billy S. Taylor Atl0rneyHanifin and Clark and Frank C Leach, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT A flat multistrand wire is tightly wrapped around. a core through utilization of a shuttle having a passage within which the multistrand wire is disposed during winding. The apparatus includes a device for separating each end of the strands of the wire after the wire has been tightly wrapped around the core.

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' sum as or 12 PATENTEDFEB22 I972 YOKE HOME (SPRING RETURN) STOP wmu SHUTTLE,YOKE

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STOP WIRE LOAD START WIRE LOAD CORE CLAMP CLOSE (CORE INSERTED) FIG. 20

SHEET 070E 12 FEED ROLLER MOTOR 40 SHUTTLE MOTOR 9T HOME POSITION SOLENOID I40 MAGNETIC CLUTCH IIT SOLENOID 49 SHEET OBOF 12 FIG. 21

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FIG. 28

PATENTEUFEB 22 I972 SHEET 110F 1 2 PATENTEUFEB 22 I972 SHEET IEUF 12 APPARATUS FOR WINDING A CORE AND SPLI'ITING MULTISTRAND WIRES When winding a core with a multistrand wire, which is rectangular in shape so as to have a flat side bearing against the core, it is necessary that the multistrand wire fit tightly against the core in order that the core will satisfactorily function as a transformer. Furthermore, there must be no overlapping or twisting of any of the portions of the multistrand wire, and there must be a predetermined and equal spacing relation between adjacent portions of the wound wire upon the core for the core to function satisfactorily as a transformer.

The present invention satisfactorily solves the foregoing problems by providing an apparatus in which a multistrand wire may be helically wound upon a core without any overlapping or twisting of the wire when it is wrapped around the core. Additionally, the apparatus of the present invention wraps the flat wire tightly against the core. Furthermore, the apparatus of the present invention insures that the equal predetermined spacing exists between adjacent portions of the wire wound around the core. Therefore, a core wound with a multistrand wire by the apparatus of the present invention functions satisfactorily as a transformer.

In winding a multistrand wire upon a core, it is necessary for the ends of the strands of the wire to be separated from each other after completion of the winding of the wire. This is to permit each of the strands of the wire to be connected to different electrical connectors such as on a printed circuit board, for example.

The present invention satisfactorily meets the foregoing requirement by providing a device for automatically separating the ends of the multistrand wire, which has been wrapped around the core, so that the end of each of the strands of the wire may be appropriately connected. The present invention utilizes a movable separating means to separate the adhesively bonded strands of wire from each other.

An object of this invention is to provide an automatic apparatus for winding a multistrand wire around a core and then separating the ends of the strands of the wire from each other.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for winding a wire around a core.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device for separating adhesively bonded strands of wire from each other.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view showing the apparatus of the present invention for automatically winding a wire around a core, separating the strands of each end of the wire, and testing the core after the ends of the strands of wire have been separated from each other.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view showing the apparatus for supplying the wire and winding the wire around the core.

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, ofa portion of the apparatus of FIG. 2 and showing the structure for cutting the end of the wire after the wire has been wound around the core.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side-elevational view, partly in section, of a portion of the structure of FIG. 2 and showing details of the core winding apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a side-elevational view, partly in section, taken from the opposite side to FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a front-elevational view, partly in section, of a plunger tip that initially directs the wire through the core.

FIG. 9 is a side-elevational view, partly in section, of the core winding apparatus of FIG. 2 and showing part of the drive mechanism for simultaneously rotating the core support means and the shuttle containing the wire.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing details of the drive for the shuttle.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 9 with parts omitted for clarity purposes.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 9 and looking from the right thereof with some parts omitted for clarity purposes.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the shuttle utilized for transporting the wire through the core.

FIGS. 15-19 are schematic views showing the winding of the wire around the core.

FIG. 20 is a timing chart illustrating the timing relation of various parts during winding of the wire around the core.

FIG. 21 is a side-elevational view, partly in section. of a device for separating the ends of the strands of wire from each other after the wire has been wound around the core.

FIG. 22 is an elevational view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 21 and taken from the right side thereof.

FIG. 23 is an elevational view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 22 and taken from the right side thereof.

FIG. 24 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a portion of the structure of FIG. 21 taken from the left side of FIG. 21 and showing details of the structure for separating the strands of wire from each other.

FIG. 25 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a portion of the structure of FIG. 21 and taken along line 25-25 of FIG. 21.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view showing the jaws, which retain the wire to form a point of convergence for the strands of the wire after the wires have been separated, in their closed position.

FIG. 27 is a fragmentary elevational view, similar to FIG. 26, but showing the jaws in their open position.

FIG. 28 is a top plan view of the wire-retaining means of FIG. 21 and taken along line 28-28 of FIG. 21.

FIG. 29 is a top plan view of a portion of the rotary index plate on which the core is supported for transporting and showing the two ends of the wire, which is wound around the core, retained by clamping means.

FIG. 30 is an exploded perspective view of one of the clamping means and a portion of the rotary index plate of FIG. 29.

FIG. 31 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the shuttle of FIG. 14 and taken along 3l-31 of FIG. 14.

FIG. 32 is an enlarged sectional view of another portion of the shuttle of FIG. 14 and taken along line 3232 of FIG. 14.

FIG. 33 is an enlarged rear-elevational view of a portion of the structure for separating the strands of the wire.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1, there is shown an apparatus for automatically winding a core and separating the strands of the wire from each other. The apparatus includes a core winder 10 that is adapted to wind a wire 11 from a supply spool 12 around a core 14. The core 14 is supplied from a core handler 15, which is preferably a vibratory feeder bowl, through a tube 16 communicating with the core handler 15. The core 14 may be disposed on the core winder 10 from the tube 16 either manually or automatically.

After the wire 11 has been wound around the core 14 by the core winder 10, the core 14 is transported and disposed, either manually or automatically, on a carrier 17. The carrier 17 is supported on a finger 18 of a rotary index plate 19.

A plug 20 (see FIG. 29) is adapted to be disposed within the core 14 to retain it on the carrier 17. The plug 20 is supplied from a plug loader 21 through a tube 22 for disposition, either manually or automatically, within the core 14 on the carrier 17. The plug loader 21 is preferably a vibratory feeder bowl.

The two ends of the wire 11, which has been wound around the core 14, are fixed to clamping means 23 on the finger 18 of the rotary plate 19. This is accomplished either manually or automatically.

The carrier 17 is disposed on the finger 18 prior to the finger 18 being rotated to the position at which the core 14 is disposed within the carrier 17. The carrier 17 is supported on the finger 18 and clamped thereto after being supplied to the finger 18 from a carrier load source 24.

After the core 14 and the plug 20 have been properly disposed on the carrier 17, the index plate 19 is rotated clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 1) to position the finger 18 at a termination station 25. The termination station 25 serves to separate or sever the strands of the multistrand wire 11 extending from the core 14 from each other. The termination station 25 separates only one end of each of the strands of the wire 11 from each other which a second termination station 26 separates the other end of each of the strands of the wire 11. This is necessary since one of the ends of the wire 11 comes off the top of the core 14 while the other of the ends of the wire 11 comes off the bottom of the core 14.

At each of the termination stations 25 and 26, suitable means may be employed to solder each of the separated wires to a specific point on the carrier 17, which may be a printed circuit board, for example, Thus, the termination stations 25 and 26 not only have means to separate the strands of the wire 11 from each other at each end of the wire but also have means to connect each of these separated strands to an appropriate electrical connector.

The portion of the wire 11 between the cutting or separating means and the clamping means 23 is not utilized. Accordingly, a wire trim station 27 is employed to remove the portions of the wire 11 remaining within the clamping means 23.

The rotary plate 19 indexes the finger 18 to a test station 28 from the second termination station 26. It should be understood that the plate 19 does not stop the finger 18 at the wire trim station 27 but merely passes the finger 18 therethrough so that the wire trim station 27 may remove the portions of the wire 11 from the clamping means 23.

After the core 14 has been tested at the test station 28, it is advanced to a reject station 29 by the rotary index plate 19, The carrier 17, the core 14, and the plug 20 are removed from the finger 18 at the reject station 29 if the core 14 did not pass the tests at the test station 28. Otherwise, the reject station 29 is not effective when the finger 18 is indexed to the reject station 29.

If the core 14 passed the tests at the test station 28, the carrier 17, the plug 20, and the core 14 are not removed from the finger 18 until the rotary plate 19 rotates the finger 18 to an unloading station. This is at the same area in which another of the carriers 17 is loaded from the source 24 and clamped onto the finger 18.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown an upstanding support 31 on which the supply spool 12 is rotatably mounted. The supply spool 12 is adapted to be driven by a motor 32, which also is carried by the support 31. Accordingly, whenever the motor 32 is energized, the spool 12 is rotated to unwind the wire 11 therefrom.

The wire 11 extends from the supply spool 12 around a pulley 33, which is mounted on one end of an arm 34. The other end of the arm 34 is pivotally mounted on the support 31.

The path of the wire 11 is from the supply spool 12 around the pulley 33 to a hollow tube 35 of the core winder 10. The hollow tube 35 extends exteriorly of a mounting block 36, which is mounted on an upstanding support 37 and supports the hollow tube 35.

The other end of the hollow tube 35 is disposed adjacent a pair of feed rollers 38 and 39, which are adapted to be driven by a motor 40 through suitable gears (not shown). The hollow tube 35 is aligned with the feed rollers 38 and 39 so that the wire 11 exits from the hollow tube 35 to pass between the feed rollers 39 and 39 whereby rotation of the feed rollers 38 and 39 advances the wire 11.

The upper feed roller 39 is rotatably mounted in the block 36 while the lower feed roller 38 is rotatably mounted in a mounting block 42, which is mounted on the support 37. The feed roller motor 40 is supported by the mounting block 36.

The wire 11 extends from the feed rollers 38 and 39 through a hollow tube 43, which is carried by the block 36 and a mounting block 44 on the upstanding support 37 of the core winder 10. The hollow tube 43 communicates with a passage 45 (see FIG. 4) in the mounting block 44.

The mountingblock 44 has a knife 46 mounted therein to sever the wire 1 1 when the knife 46 is moved downwardly into the passage 45. The knife 46 is normally biased upwardly away from the passage 45 by a spring 47.

The upper end of the knife 47 is connected through a rocker arm 48, which is pivotally mounted within the mounting block 44 by a pin 48', to a solenoid 49. When the solenoid 49 is actuated, its plunger, which is connected by a pin 49 to the rocker arm 48, is retracted into the solenoid 49 to pivot the rocker arm 48 about the axis of the pin 48' and move the knife 46 downwardly to sever the wire 11 within the passage 45. This occurs after the wire 11 has been completely wound upon the core 14.

An arcuate hollow tube 50 has one end disposed within the mounting block 44 and communicating with the passage 45 in the mounting block 44 to receive the wire 11. The tube 50 is supported in a bracket 51 (see FIGS. 2, 5 and 6), which is mounted on the upper surface of a shuttle mounting block 52.

The other end of the arcuate tube 50 is disposed within a passage 53 (see FIG. 8) in a plunger tip 54. The plunger tip 54 is slidably mounted within a passage 55 in the shuttle mounting block 52. The length of the arcuate tube 50 disposed within the passage 53 in the plunger tip 54 is sufficient to always communicate with the passage 53 irrespective of whether the plunger tip 54 is in the position shown in FIG. 6 or moved downwardly by a bellcrank 56.

The lower end of the plunger tip 54 has a reduced tip 57 extending therefrom and through which the passage 53 extends. Accordingly, the wire 11 may be fed by the feed rollers 38 and 39 from the arcuate tube 50 through the passage 53 in the plunger tip 54 and out through the reduced tip 57.

The bellcrank 56 is connected to the plunger tip 54 by a pin 58 on the plunger tip 54 extending through a slot 59 in the shuttle mounting block 52. The pin 58 extends into a slot 60 in one end ofthe bellcrank 56. I

The bellcrank 56 is pivotally mounted on the shuttle mounting block 52 by a pin 61 and has its other end pivotally connected to a rod 62, which is adapted to be actuated by a solenoid 63. Thus, when the solenoid 63, which is supported on the shuttle mounting block 52, is actuated to retract the rod 62, the plunger tip 54 is moved downwardly so that the reduced tip 57 on the lower end thereof moves into and through the core 14, which is supported adjacent the lower end of the reduced tip 57 when the plunger tip 54 is in its uppermost position.

The core 14 is supported between an upper fixed clamp 70 and a lower movable clamp 71 (see FIGS. 9 and 1 1). The clamps 70 and 71 are carried by a yoke 72. The yoke 72 is rotatably supported on a support block 73, which is fixedly secured to the upstanding support 37 of the core winder 10.

As shown in FIG. 11, the yoke 72 includes an upper support lug 74 disposed above the support block 73 and a lower support lug 75 disposed beneath the support block 73. A hollow cylindrical member 75' is connected to the lugs 74 and 75 and the support block 73 so as to rotatably mount the yoke 72 on the support block 73.

A shaft 76 extends through the hollow cylindrical member 75 and has its axis disposed on the rotatable axis of the yoke 72. The rotatably axis of the yoke 72 is the longitudinal axis of the hollow cylindrical member 75'.

The lower end of the shaft 76 is fixed to the upper end of an L-shaped carrier 77 (see FIGS. 9 and 11), which is slidably mounted within a longitudinal slot 78 in the yoke 72. The lower end of the L-shaped carrier has a rod 79 extending therefrom and is in contact with the lower movable clamp 71.

Accordingly, when the shaft 76 is moved downwardly, the clamp 71 is moved away from the upper clamp 70 to permit the core 14 to be inserted therebetween. Then, when the shaft 76 is moved upwardly, the lower clamp 71 moves upwardly to clamp the core 14in cooperation with the upper clamp 70.

The core 14 is positioned on the clamps 70 and 71 so that the plunger tip 54 will pass through the interior of the core 14. Furthermore, the axis of rotation of the yoke 72 is such that the core 14 is rotated about the center of its axis when the yoke 72 is rotated. Thus, by rotating the yoke 72, the core 14 may be rotated about its axis to move relative to the wire 11, which is supplied through the core 14 initially by moving the plunger tip 54 through the plane of the core 14 when the solenoid 63 is actuated.

The upper end of the shaft 76 extends above the upper support lug 74 of the yoke 72 and has one end ofa rocker arm 80, which is pivotally mounted on a support block 81 (see FIG. 2), bearing thereagainst. The other end of the rocker arm 80 has a roller 82 mounted thereon and functioning as a cam follower by engaging a surface of a cam 83.

The cam 83 is rotatably mounted on a support plate 84 of the support block 73, which carries the support block 81, Thus, when the cam 83 is rotated in one direction, it causes the clamp 71 to be moved downwardly away from the upper clamp 70 while rotation in the opposite direction causes the clamp 71, which is formed ofa resilient material so as to be continuously urged toward the clamp 70, to move upwardly toward the clamp 70 to clamp the core 14 therebetween. The cam 83 is driven by a motor 85 through a hub 8511, which is secured to the shaft of the motor by a set screw 85b and directly to the cam 83 by screws 86.

A switch 87 is supported on the block 81 and has a switch arm 88 adapted to be engaged by the rocker arm 80. The switch 87 is held closed by the arm 80 when the core 14 is clamped between the clamps 70 and 71. When the rocker arm 80 is moved by the cam 83 to release the core 14 through moving the lower clamp 71 away from the upper clamp 70, the rocker arm 80 ceases to hold the switch arm 88 in a position to close the switch 87 so that the switch 87 opens. Thus, the switch 87 provides a signal to indicate whether the core 14 is or is not retained between the clamps 70 and 71.

As shown in FIG. 5, a shuttle 90 is rotatably mounted in the shuttle mounting block 52. The shuttle 90 is circular shaped with its ends 91 and 92 terminating at a slight distance from each other. The distance between the ends 91 and 92 is slightly greater than the space, which is formed within the shuttle mounting block 52 into which the core 14 is positioned. Thus, the shuttle 90 is adapted to be positioned so that the core 14 may be disposed between the ends 91 and 92 of the shuttle 90.

The shuttle 90 has a passage 93 (see FIGS. 31 and 32) extending therethrough from the end 91 to the end 92 to permit the wire 11 to be fed into the shuttle 90. A retainer 93, which is secured to the shuttle 90, cooperates with the shuttle 90 to form the passage 93. The inner surface of the shuttle 90 has gear teeth 94 formed thereon for cooperation with gears 95 and 96 (see FIGS. 5 and which are rotatably mounted in the shuttle mounting block 52.

As shown in FIG. 10, the gears 95 and 96 are driven by a motor 97, which is supported by a mounting block 98 (see FIG. 9) fixedly secured to the support 37. The drive from the shuttle motor 97 to the gears 95 and 96 is from a gear 99 on the shaft of the motor 97 to a gear 100, which is fixedly secured to a shaft 101 that is rotatably mounted in both the support 37 and the mounting block 98. The shaft 101 has a gear 102 on one end thereof meshing with gears 103 and 104 on shafts I05 and 106, respectively. The shaft 105, which is rotatably mounted in the shuttle mounting block 52, has the gear 95 fixedly secured thereto for rotation therewith while the shaft 106, which also is rotatably mounted in the shuttle mounting block 52, has the gear 96 fixedly secured thereto;

As shown in FIG. 10, the shaft 101 has a worm fixedly secured thereto at the opposite end from the gear 102. The worm 110 meshes with a worm gear 111 (see FIG. 13), which is carried on a shaft 112 (see FIG. 11). The shaft 112 has a bevel gear 113 at its upper end meshing with a bevel gear 114, which is rotatably carried by a mounting block 114 (see FIG. 13) on the support 37 and meshes with a bevel gear 115. The bevel gear 115 is carried on the lower end of a shaft 116 of a magnetic clutch 117. The magnetic clutch 117 has a shaft 118 (see FIG. 11) extending from its upper end and connected through suitable structure to rotate the yoke 72. Accordingly, whenever the magnetic clutch 117 is energized, the shuttle motor 97 also will rotate the yoke 72.

As shown in FIG. 11, the upper end of the shaft 118, which is free to rotate when the magnetic clutch 117 is deenergized, of the magnetic clutch 117 has a sprocket 119 fixedly secured thereto with a chain 120 in driving engagement therewith. The chain 120 also passes around a sprocket 121, which is fixedly secured to the upper lug 74 of the yoke 72 to be in driving engagement therewith. An idler sprocket 122 is mounted on the support plate 84 of the support block 73 and has the chain 120 in engagement therewith.

Thus, whenever the magnetic clutch 117, which is supported by the support plate 84, and the shuttle motor 97 are energized, the yoke 72 is rotated about the axis of the cylindrical member 75 Accordingly, rotation of the core 14, which is carried by the yoke 72, may be synchronized with rotation of the shuttle 90 whereby the desired relation between wrapping the wire 11 around the core 14 and rotating the core l4-to prevent overlapping or twisting of the wire 11 is obtained.

In order to count the number of revolutions of the shuttle 90 by the shuttle motor 97, a plate 124 (see FIG. 9) is attached to the worm 110 for rotation therewith. The plate 124 has a single aperture therein fro cooperation with a photocell and a light, which are mounted in ears 125 and 126, respectively, of a bracket 127, which is carried by the mounting block 98.

The plate 124 rotates between the ears 125 and 126. Accordingly, each revolution of the plate 124 by the worm 110 results in the light activating the photocell due to the aperture in the plate 124 to provide a counting signal. Since the worm 110 rotates twelve revolutions for each revolution of the shuttle 90, counting of each 30 of rotation of the shuttle 90 is obtained. This counting signal is utilized to determine when to stop the shuttle motor 97.

After the wire 11 has been fed into the passage 93 in the shuttle 90, it is necessary to retain the wire 11 within the shuttle 90 during most of each revolution of the shuttle 90 and allow only a small amount of the total wire to be removed from the shuttle 90 during each revolution of the shuttle 90. It should be understood that the wire 11 is held or retained between the feed rollers 38 and 39 after driving thereof by the motor 40 is stopped.

Accordingly, a leaf spring 128 (see FIG. 14) is attached to the outer surface of the shuttle 90 adjacent the end 92 of the shuttle 90. Whenever a surface of the shuttle mounting block 52 bears against the free end of the leaf spring 128 and causes it to engage against the wire 11 in the passage 93 through an opening in the shuttle 90, the wire 11 is clamped to the shuttle 90.

The shuttle 90 has a second leaf spring 129 on its outer surface angularly displaced from the leaf spring 128. The leaf spring 129 acts through an opening in the shuttle 90 to engage the wire 11 within the passage 93 in the shuttle 90. As a result, the leaf spring 129 cooperates with the leaf spring 128 to insure that there is no slippage of the wire 11.

The leaf spring 129 moves into a notch (not shown) in the shuttle mounting block 52 during a portion of the time when the leaf spring 128 is not bearing against a surface of the shuttle mounting block 52. It is only during this short interval of time that another portion of the wire 11 may be removed from the shuttle 90 to permit further winding of the wire 11 around the core 14. No additional removal of the wire 11 from the shuttle 90 is possible during the remainder of a revolution of the shuttle 90.

A schematic representation of the winding of the wire 11 around the core 14 is shown in FIGS. 15 to 19. As shown in FIG. 15, the wire 11 has been fed into the passage 93 within the shuttle 90 through utilization of the plunger tip 54. Then, as soon as the shuttle 90 starts to rotate, the leaf spring 128 clamps the wire 11 within the shuttle 90 while the other end of the wire 11 is held or retained by the feed rollers 38 and 39. The clockwise rotation of the shuttle 90 from the position of FIG. 15 to the position of FIG. 17 results in the wire 11 starting to loop around the core 14 as the core 14 also rotates simultaneously due to the yoke 72 rotating because of the magnetic clutch 117 being energized.

When the shuttle 90 has rotated to the position of FIG. 18, the wire 11 has made a complete loop around the core 14 although it is not tightly wrapped thereto. When the shuttle 90 moves from the position of FIG. 17 to the position of FIG. 18, there is a slight further release of the wire 11 since the leaf spring 128 is not engaging a surface of the shuttle mounting block 52 to clamp the wire 11 within the shuttle 90 and the leaf spring 129 has its free end disposed in a notch in the shuttle mounting block 52 so as to not clamp the wire 11 within the shuttle 90.

As further clockwise rotation of the shuttle 90 continues, the flat wire 11 is tightly wrapped around the core 14. This occurs when the shuttle 90 has advanced to a position slightly beyond that of FIG. 19. At this time, the wire 11 is a straight line between the end 92 of the shuttle 90 and the core 14 so that it is tightly wrapped.

This wrapping of the core 11 around the core 14 continues until the desired number of revolutions of the shuttle 90 has occurred. When this has occurred as indicated by the counting plate 124, further rotation of the shuttle 90 is stopped. At this time, of course, the stopping of the shuttle motor 97 also results in the yoke 72 no longer being rotated whereby the core 14 does not rotate.

However, the magnetic clutch 117 remains energized to prevent the yoke 72 from being returned to its home position by a spring, which continuously urges the yoke 72 to its home position against the rotating force of the shuttle motor 97. The spring is disposed within a housing 130 (see FIG. 9), which is supported on the support plate 84 of the support block 73. The housing 130 is supported in spaced relation to the support plate 84 by legs 131.

When the shuttle motor 97 is deenergized from a suitable logic circuit (not shown), which has received the counting signals from the photocell in the car 125 due to rotation of the plate 124, a solenoid 132 (see FIG. 13) is activated. The activation of the solenoid 132 overcomes a spring 133 to move a latch 134 counterclockwise about its pivot pin 135 since the solenoid 132 retracts its plunger when it is energized. The spring 133 urges the latch 134 clockwise about the pivot pin 135. The pivot pin 135 pivotally supports the latch 134 on a mounting block 136, which is secured to the upstanding support 37 and also carries the solenoid 132.

One end of the latch 134 has a roller 137 mounted thereon for disposition within the slot 138 in a circular plate 139, which is fixed to the shaft 101 for rotation therewith. As shown in FIG. 10, the circular plate 139 has a shoulder formed thereon to support the gear 100. Thus, the circular plate 139 connects the gear 100 to the shaft 101.

Accordingly, when the shuttle motor 97 is deenergized, the roller 137 will fall into the slot 138 in the circular plate 139 if the solenoid 132 has been energized. The solenoid 132 is energized by the control or logic circuitry after the control circuitry has received a signal that the shuttle motor 97 has been stopped. Positioning the roller 137 in the slot 138 of the circular plate 139 provides a positive lock for the shuttle motor 97 to provide a home position of the shuttle 90.

With the shuttle motor 97 stopped and the solenoid 132 energized to dispose the lock roller 137 in the slot 138 of the circular plate 139, a home sense position solenoid 140 (see FIG. 5) is picked. This results in a bellcrank 141, which is pivotally supported on the shuttle mounting housing 52 by a pin 142, being rotated counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 5)

about the pivot pin 142. Rotation of the bellcrank 14] moves a sensing pin 143 (see FIG. 7) upwardly. If the shuttle is in its home position, the sensing pin 143 enters a notch 144 (see FIGS. 14 and 32) in the shuttle 90. If the sensing pin 143 enters the notch 144, a projection 145 extending downwardly from the bellcrank 141 ceases to engage a roller 146 (see FIG. 2) on an arm 147 of a switch 148. As a result, the switch 148 opens and transmits a signal to the control or logic circuitry to indicate that the shuttle 90 is in its home position.

If the shuttle 90 is not in its home position, the control circuitry causes the solenoid 132 to be deenergized. As a result, the roller 137 is moved out of the slot 138 in the circular plate 139. Then, the motor 97 is energized for one revolution. Because of the gearing arrangement, this results in a movement of one-twelfth of a revolution of the shuttle 90, that is, 30.

Then, the solenoid 132 is energized to again position the roller 137 in the slot 138 of the circular plate 139 to lock the shuttle 90 against rotation. Next, the home position solenoid 140, which is deenergized a predetermined time after it has been energized by the control circuitry, is again energized. If the shuttle 90 is now in its home position, the sensing pin 143 enters the notch 144 in the shuttle 90 and causes the switch 148 to supply the desired signal to the control circuitry. If not, the cycle is repeated until the shuttle 90 is in its home position.

When the switch 148 indicates that the shuttle 90 is in its home position, the solenoid 49 (see FIG. 4) is energized by the control circuitry. This results in the knife 46 cutting the wire 11. Then, the control circuitry provides a signal to rotate the cam 83 to move the lower clamp 71 away from the upper clamp 70. Then, the core 14 may be readily removed. This removal of the core 14 may be either manually or automatically. If automatically, the control circuitry must insure that the core 14 is grasped by the unloading mechanism before the cam 83 is rotated.

After the cam 83 has removed the clamp 71 away from the clamp 70 so that the clamps 70 and 71 no longer retain the core 14, the magnetic clutch 117 is deenergized. The magnetic clutch 117 is deenergized after a signal from the switch 87 indicates that the clamp 71 has been moved away from the clamp 70. This results in the spring within the housing 130 quickly returning to the yoke 72 to its home position whereby the yoke 72 is ready for another cycle. Of course, if the core 14 is removed by automatic means, the magnetic clutch 117 could not be deenergized by the control circuitry until the control circuitry has received a signal indicating that the unloading mechanism has transported the core 14 away from the clamps 70 and 71.

Considering the operation of the core winder 10 of the invention, the core 14 must be clamped between the clamps 70 and 71 before any other operation occurs. This is accomplished by rotating the cam 83 to allow the clamp 71 to move upwardly, due to its resiliency, to clamp the core 14 between the upper clamp 70 and the lower clamp 71. With the core 14 clamped between the clamps 70 and 71, the wire 11 is supplied by energizing the feed roller motor 40 to advance the wire from the spool 12. As the feed rollers 38 and 39 pull the wire 11, the arm 34 pivots due to the force exerted on the pulley 33 by the feed rollers 38 and 39 pulling the wire 11.

If the pulley 33 is advanced sufficiently during a particular cycle to cause the arm 34 to actuate a switch 149 (see FIG. 2), which is carried by the support 31, the actuation of the switch 149 causes the control circuitry to energize the motor 32 whereby the spool 12 is rotated to supply a predetermined amount ofthe wire 11 therefrom. The amount of wire supplied from the spool 12 is greater than that required for any particular single feed cycle of the motor 40. Thus, the supply spool motor 32 is not energized during each energization cycle of the motor 40. Because of a tension spring 150 continuously urging the arm 34 to the position of FIG. 2, the supply of the additional wire 11 from the spool 12 results in the arm 34 being returned to the position of FIG. 2 whereby the switch 149 is again opened to provide a signal to the control circuitry that the supply spool motor 32 should be stopped.

When the control circuitry receives a signal from the switch 87 to indicate that the core 14 is clamped between the clamps 70 and 71, the control circuitry not only causes energization of the feed control motor 40 but also causes simultaneous energization of the solenoid 63. This results in the plunger tip 54 being moved downwardly so that the reduced tip 57 on the lower end of the plunger tip 54 communicates with the passage 93 in the shuttle 90 whereby the wire 11 may be fed through the core 14 to the shuttle 90. Thus, the wire may be considered to be shot through the core 14 into the shuttle 90.

The feed roller motor 40 has a counting plate (not shown) supported on its shaft for rotation therewith. The counting plate has a plurality of equally angularly spaced openings therein. A photocell and light are mounted within the mounting block 36 to cooperate with the equally angularly spaced openings in the counting plate. Accordingly, each time that one of the openings passes the light path between the photocell and the light, the photocell is energized to count the rotation of the feed roller motor 40 so as to provide a signal to the control circuitry. Thus, when the control circuitry has received sufficient signals from the photocell to indicate that the desired amount of the wire 11 has been fed to the shuttle 90, the motor 40 is stopped. After the motor 40 is stopped, the control circuitry deenergizes the solenoid 63 whereby the plunger tip 54 is retracted by a spring 152 (see FIG. 6), which has one end connected to the bracket 51 of the shuttle mounting block 52 and its other end connected to the bellcrank 56.

After the feed roller motor 40 has been stopped and the plunger tip has been retracted, the magnetic clutch 117 and the shuttle motor 97 are energized. The timing relation of the energization of the cam 83, the feed roller motor 40, the shuttle motor 97, and the magnetic clutch 117 are shown in the timing chart of FIG. 20. With the clutch 1l7'and the motor 97 energized, the yoke 72 is rotated about the axis of the cylindrical member 75 and the shaft 76 at the same time that the shuttle 90 is rotated. This results in the wire 11 being wrapped around the core 14in the manner schematically shown in FIGS. to 19.

Upon completion of the desired number of revolutions of the shuttle 90 as indicated by the counting plate 124 cooperating with the photocell and light in the ears 125 and 126, respectively, the shuttle motor 97 is deenergized. Upon deenergization of the shuttle motor 97,'the control circuitry energizes the solenoid 132. This locks the shuttle motor 97 and the shuttle 90 against rotation by means of the latch 134. Then, the home position solenoid 140 is picked to cause the sensing pin 143 to determine whether the shuttle 90 is in its home position. This picking of the solenoid 140 is shown in the timing chart as occurring right after the stopping of the shuttle motor 97. As previously mentioned, the shuttle 90 must be in its home position before the knife 46 may be utilized to cut the wire 11. If the shuttle 90 is not in its home position, then the sequence of rotating the shuttle motor 97 one revolution (one-twelfth) of a revolution of the shuttle 90) is utilized until the shuttle 90 is in its home position.

With the shuttle 90 in its home position as indicated by the switch 148 (see FIG. 2), the solenoid 49 (see FIG. 4) is energized. This results in the wire 11 being cut by the knife 46. The energization of the solenoid 49 is shown in the timing chart of FIG. 20.

Then, the control circuitry causes energization of the motor 85 to move the lower clamp 71 away from the upper clamp 70. This permits the core 14 to be removed from the core winder 10. If the core 14 were transported automatically, it would be necessary to ascertain that the unloading mechanism had grasped the core 14 before the motor 85 could be energized. Upon completion of rotation of the cam 83 by the motor 85, a signal is supplied from the switch 87 indicating that the clamp 71 is not in a position away from the clamp 70 so that the core 14 is no longer clamped therebetween.

When this signal is received by the control circuitry, the magnetic clutch 117 is deenergized by the control circuitry. As a result, the spring within the housing 130 rapidly returns the yoke 72 to the home position whereby another cycle may be started after another of the cores 14 is disposed between the clamps 70 and 71.

Referring to FIG. 21, there is shown one of the termination stations 25 and 26 in which the ends of the strands of the wire 11 are separated. The termination stations include a base having upstanding supports 161, 162, and 163 extending therefrom.

A continuously rotating motor 164 is mounted on the support 161. A bracket 165 (see FIG. 22) aids in retaining the motor 164 on the support 161.

During each actuation of a clutch, a shaft 167, which is rotatably supported by the supports 161 and 162, is rotated through 360 by the continuously rotating motor. 164. The shaft 167 has cams 168, 169, and mounted thereon for rotation therewith. The cam 168 controls the positioning of a wire-soldering means 171, the cam 169 regulates the movement ofa wire-retaining means 172, and the cam 170 governs the positioning of a wire-separating means 173.

The camshaft 167 has a pulley 174 on one end thereof for cooperation with a toothed belt 175, which also passes around a pulley 176 on shaft 177 of the motor 164. The pulley 174 is connected to the camshaft only when the clutch is actuated. Thus, the continuously rotating pulley 174 rotates the shaft 167 whenever the clutch is actuated.

The clutch includes a disk 178, which is fixedly mounted to the camshaft 167. The disk 178 has a pawl 179 (see FIG. 22) pivotally mounted thereon for cooperation with a ratchet wheel 180, which is fixed to the pulley 174 for rotation therewith. Thus, whenever the pawl 179 is moved into engagement with the continuously rotating ratchet wheel 180, the camshaft 167 is rotated.

The pawl 179 is continuously urged counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 22) about a pin 181, which pivotally mounts the pawl 179 on the disk 178, by a spring 182. The spring 182 acts between a portion of the pawl 179 and a member 183, which is fixed to the disk 178.

A pivotally mounted stop 184 engages against a portion 185 of the pawl 179 to maintain the pawl 179 in the position of FIG. 22 where the pawl 179 cannot engage the ratchet wheel 178. The stop 184 is pivotally mounted about an axis186 and is continuously urged to the position of FIG. 22 by a spring (not shown) within a solenoid 188.

When the solenoid 188, which is mounted on the support 161, is energized, its plunger lifts the stop 184 upwardly through a connecting lever 187 whereby the stop I84 pivots counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 22) about the axis 186 so that the stop 184 no longer engages the portion 185 of the pawl 179. Accordingly, the spring 182 moves the pawl 179 into engagement with one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel to cause rotation of the camshaft 167. Thus, only energization of the solenoid 188 is necessary to cause a revolution of the camshaft 167. I

When the stop 184 is pivoted counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 22) due to energization of the solenoid 188, a pin 189 on the stop 184 engages a latch 190, which also is pivotally mounted about the axis 186, to lift the latch 190 against the force of a spring 191, which is continuously urging the latch 190 to the position of FIG. 22. Since the latch 190 bears against the stop 184 through the pin 189, the spring 191 also continuously urges the stop 184 to the position of FIG. 22. Thus, actuation of the solenoid 188 not only lifts the stop 184 but also lifts the latch 190. As shown in FIG 22, the latch190 bears against the member 183 whereby the portion of the pawl 179 and the member 183 are retained between the stop 184 and the latch 190.

The stop 184 and the latch return to the position of FIG. 22 shortly after rotation of the camshaft 167 starts due to deenergization of the solenoid 188. Thus, when the camshaft 167 nears completion of 360 of rotation, the portion 185 of the pawl 179 engages the latch 190 and pivots the latch 190 counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 22) about the axis 186 against the force of the spring 191. When the portion185 of the pawl 179 abuts against the stop 184, the-pawl 179 is removed from engagement with the ratchet wheel 180 of the camshaft 167 whereby rotation of the camshaft 167 stops. The latch 190 falls behind the member 183 to prevent any movement of the shaft 167 in the opposite direction due to rebound from the stop 184.

When rotation of the camshaft 167 starts, the cams 168 and 169 have their cam followers 192 and 193 (see FIG. 21), respectively, disposed on the high dwells of the cam surfaces, which are formed by slots in the cams 168 and 169, while the cam 170 has its cam follower 194 disposed on the low dwell of its cam surface, which is formed by a slot in the cam 170. However, the cam followers 192 and 193 are shown at their low dwells in FIG. 21. This is merely for convenience in illustrating the operative position of the mechanisms attached to the cam followers 192 and 193.

The cam follower 193 is connected through a link 195 to a slide 196. The link 195 is vertically guided within the support 162. Thus, the movements of the cam follower 193 are transmitted to the slide 196 by the link 195.

The slide 196 carriers a wire positioner assembly 197 (see FIG. 28) thereon. The assembly 197 is pivotally mounted on the slide 196 by a pin 198 (see FIG. 21), which extends between downwardly extending portions of arms 199 and 200 of the wire positioner assembly 197 and a downwardly extending portion of the slide 196.

The forward ends of the arms 199 and 200 are connected to each other by a cover plate 201. Jaw arms or bars 202 and 203 are disposed between the faces of the arms 199 and 200 and the cover plate 201 as shown in FIG. 28. A leaf spring 204 (see FIGS. 26-28) urges the jaw arms 202 and 203, which are pivotally mounted on the arms 199 and 200, respectively, away from each other. Thus, a jaw 205 on the arm 202 is held in spaced relation to a jaw 206 on the arm 203 by the leaf spring 204 as shown in FIG. 27.

As shown in FIG. 26, the jaw 205 is formed with an L- shaped recess at its lower end while the lower end of the jaw 206 is formed with a straight edge. In the open position (see FIG. 27), the jaws 205 and 206 have their lower ends, which receive the wire 11, sufficiently spaced from each other to accommodate the wire 11 when it is not disposed in its true position.

When the slider 196 moves downwardly, the jaw 205 initially contacts the wire 11. This results in the wire 11 exerting a moment on both of the jaws 205 and 206 through the leaf spring 204. The jaws 205 and 206 close symmetrically and align the wire 11 with respect to its center or true lateral position. This creates a point of convergence for the wire 11 after its strands have been separated from each other.

When the jaws S and 206 are closed, they cooperate to form a rectangular shaped recess of the same size as the wire 11. The jaws 205 and 206 are limited in their movement toward each other through the arms 202 and 203 engaging the bottom surfaces of the arms 199 and 200, respectively, as shown in FIG. 26.

It should be understood that the jaws 205 and 206 engage the side of the core 14 to push the wire 11 downwardly so that the wire 11, which is coming over the top surface of the core 14, is urged into the horizontal plane of the top surface of the carrier 17. Thus, when the termination station is employed to separate the wires, which extend from the top surface of the core 14, the jaws 205 and 206 must move the wire 11 downwardly into the plane of the carrier 17.

The wire positioner assembly 197 is continuously urged, relative to the slide 196, counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 21) about the axis of the pin 198 by a spring 207. The spring 207 acts between a portion of the slide 196 and a connecting portion 208, which connects the lower ends of the arms 199 and 200 to each other. A screw 209, which is carried by the portion 208 of the wire positioner assembly 197, is disposed within an enlarged hole 210 (see FIG. 28) in the slide 196. This limits the amount of pivotal movement from the wire positioner assembly 197 by the spring 207 about the axis of the pin 198 due to the head of the screw 209 engaging the bottom of the hole 210.

This arrangement insures that the jaws 205 and 206 will have contacted the wire 11 and moved the wire 11 into the plane of the top surface of the carrier 17 before support pads 211, which are parallel spaced legs extending downwardly from a member 212 that is carried at the end of the slide 196 and secured thereto by screws 213, engage the wire 11. The pads 211 are adapted to engage the wire 11 and retain it in a horizontal plane when the wire-separating means 173 is moved upwardly to separate the strands of the wire 11 from each other. Thus, the pads 211 function to hold the wire 11 in its horizontal plane during separation of the strands of the wire 11 by the wire-separating means 173.

Accordingly, the downward movement of the slide 196 due to the cam follower 193 moving from high dwell to low dwell results in the jaws 20S and 206 initially engaging the wire 11 to form a point of convergence for the strands of the wire 11 when they are separated from each other. Then, the pads 211 engage the wire 11 to retain the wire in the horizontal plane when the wire-separating means 173 is moved upwardly.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 24, the wire-separating means 173 is fixedly mounted on the upper end ofa link 215, which is slidably mounted between a pair of guides 216 and 217 fixedly secured to the support 163. The lower end of the link 215 is connected to the cam follower 194. Thus, the link 215 moves upwardly and downwardly within the passage between the guides 216 and 217, the support 163, and a cover 2170, to vertically move the wire-separating means 173 in accordance with the position of the cam follower 194 in the slot in the cam 170. The cover 217a has an opening 2l7b (see FIG. 24) to accommodate the cam follower 194.

The wire-separating means includes a block 218 having three cone pointed cutting blades 219, 220, and 221 fixedly mounted thereon. Thus, as the wire-separating means 173 is moved upwardly by the cam 170, the sharpened points or tips of the cutting blades 219-221 penetrate the adhesive material, which bonds the strands of the wire 11 to each other. With the wire 11 formed of four strands, the three cutting blades 219-221 are employed. Of course, if the wire contained fewer or more strands, then the number of the cutting blades 219-221 is appropriately changed.

The sharpened end of the cutting blade 219 pierces the adhesive, which bonds the outer strand on one side with the adjacent inner strand of the wire 11 while the sharpened end of the blade 221 pierces the adhesive material, which bonds the outer strand on the other side with the adjacent inner strand. The sharpened end of the blade 220 pierces the adhesive material, which bonds the two inner strands to each other. Thus, the three cutting blades 219-221 separate the four strands of the wire 11 from each other. Furthermore, this separation is accomplished substantially simultaneously due to the sharpened ends or tips of the blades 219-221 being disposed in the same horizontal plane as shown in FIGS. 24 and 33.

The block 218 carries a pair of guides 222 and 223, which have a greater depth than the block 218, thereon. The guide 222 is disposed exterior of the cutting blade 219 and adjacent thereto while the guide 223 is disposed exterior of the cutting blade 221 and adjacent thereto. Accordingly, the outer strand, which is separated from the adjacent inner strand of the wire 11 by the cutting blade 219, moves between the cutting blade 219 and the guide 222 after separation. The other of the outer strands of the four-strand wire 11 moves between the cutting blade 221 and the guide 223 when the strand is separated from its adjacent inner strand.

In order to insure that the inner strands of the wire 11 are separated from each other, it is necessary to provide ah equal longitudinal length of each of the strands of the wire 11 between the converging means, which are the jaws 205 and 206, and the clamping means 23. Since the outer strands of the wire 11 move downwardly between the cutting blade 219 and the adjacent guide 222 and between the cutting blade 221 and the adjacent guide 223, this results in the outer strands being positively separated from the inner strands of the wire 11. Thus, the clamping means 23 maintains a tension on the outer strands after separation by the cutting blades 219 and 221 extending upwardly between the outer strand and its adjacent inner strand.

To obtain the same length of the innner strand of the wire 11 so that the clamping means 23 will maintain a tension thereon, it is necessary to utilize a wedge 224 (see FIG. 33). The upper end of the wedge 224, which is carried by the block 218, is substantially triangular shaped and comes to a point 225 adjacent the tip of the cutting blade 220. Thus, when the sharpened tip of the cutting blade 220 pierces the adhesive, which bonds the innner strands of the wire 11 to each other, the tip of the wedge 224 also moves between the inner strands slightly thereafter. The tip of the wedge 224 tapers downwardly away from the plane of the cutting blades 219-221 to a point 226. Furthermore, each of the sides 227 and 228 of the wedge 224 is tapered to permit the inner strands to be diverted outwardly into the same general plane as the separated portions of the outer strands. Thus, the wedge 224 results in the inner strands separating from each other and being maintained under the same tension as the outer strands through the wedge 224 causing the inner strands to have the same effective length.

Accordingly, the wire-separating means 173 not only separates the strands of the wire 11 from each other but also insures that they split between the jaws 205 and 206, which form a point of convergence of the strands of the wire 1 1 after they have been separated, and the clamping means 23.

If the adhesive is of the type that may be readily softened by heat such as a thermoplastic resin, for example, a hot air jet nozzle 229 (indicated in phantom in FIG. 28) may be mounted on the end of the member 212, which is carried by the slide 196, to direct a jet of hot air between the jaws 205 and 206 and the support pads 211. Thus, the heat would be applied between the point of convergence of the strands of wire 11 and the support pads 211.

As previously mentioned, the clamping means 23 is supported on the rotary index plate 19 for rotation therewith. Two of the clamping means 23 are utilized with each of the cores 14 whereby one of the ends of the wire 11, which is wrapped around the core 14, is clamped to one of the clamping means 23 while the other of the ends of the wire 11 is clamped to the other of the clamping means 23.

As shown in FIG. 30, each of the clamping means 23 includes a U-shaped support 230, which is fixedly secured to the plate 19. The U-shaped support 230 has a groove in one of its legs and in its base to accommodate portions of the plate 19. A carrier 231 is slidably mounted within the legs of the U-shaped support 230 and has slots or grooves 232 to accommodate the legs of the U-shaped support 230.

A helical compression spring 233 has one end disposed in a recess in the base of the U-shaped support 230 and its other end disposed in a recess in the carrier 231. Accordingly, the compression spring 233 continuously urges the carrier 231 to the right (as viewed in FIG. 29). The movement of the carrier 231 by the spring 233 is limited by a plate 234, which is secured to the ends of the legs of the U-shaped support 230.

The plate 234 has an opening 235 therein to accommodate a plunger 236 extending from the carrier 231. The plunger 236 is slidably disposed within the opening 235 and extends beyond the plate 234 to permit movement to the left (as viewed in FIG. 29) of the carrier 231 against the force of the spring 233 by the operator. It should be understood that the carrier 231 is shown in an intermediate position in FIG. 29 for illustrative purposes only.

The carrier 231 supports a bushing 237, which has a cylindrical bore 238, thereon. A screw 239 secures the bushing 237 in the desired relationship on the carrier 231 through disposition in a slot 240 in an upper flange 241 of the bushing 237 and a threaded opening 242 in the upper surface of the carrier 231. This precise positioning of the bushing 237 is necessary so that a V-shaped groove 243 in the flange 241 of the bushing 237 will be appropriately positioned to have the wire 11 pass thereover. The wire 11 is clamped within the V-shaped groove 243 by a cooperating V-shaped projection 244 on a slidable clamping member 245. V

The V-shaped projection 244 is continuously urged into the V-shaped groove 243 by a coiled tension spring 246, which surrounds a threaded rod 247 on the lower end of the clamping member 245 and is retained thereon by a nut 248. The threaded rod 247 is integral with the member 245.

The lower end of the bore 238 within the bushing 237 has key ways therein to cooperate with a key-shaped portion 249 g of the clamping member 245. This insures that the V-shaped projection 244 on the clamping member 245 is always properly aligned with the V-shaped groove 243 in the upper flange 241 ofthe bushing 237.

Since the spring 233 always urges the carrier 231 away from the core 14, the wire 11 is continuously maintained under tension by the spring 233. Furthermore, the wire 11 is clamped and retained in this position to maintain its desired horizontal position during separation of the strands of the wire 11.

As previously mentioned, the cam 168 controls the wire-soldereing means 171. The cam 168 has its cam follower 192 connected to a link 250 (see FIG. 21), which is slidably disposed in the support 162. The link 250 has its upper end connected by a turnbuckle rod 251 to a lever 252, which is pivotally mounted on a U-shaped support 253 of the wire soldering means 171. The U-shaped support 253 is fixedly secured to the upstanding support 161.

The lever 252 also is connected to a spring-biased rod 254, which supports a slidably mounted rod 255 for movement therewith through an adapter 256. An electrode holder 257, which is supported at the lower end of the rod 255, supports a soldering electrode 258 at-its lower end for soldering the separated strands of the wire 11 to electrical connectors on the carrier 17. The electrode 258 is adapted to be moved downwardly between the end of the member 212 and the jaws 205 and 206. Accordingly, when the link 250 is moved downwardly due to the cam follower 192 riding on the low dwell of the slot in the cam 168, the electrode 258 is moved into engagement with the strands of the wire 11 on the carrier 17 to solder the strands of the wire to various electrical connectors on the carrier 17.

Considering the operation of the termination station of FIG. 21 in which the strands of the wire 1 1 coming over the top surface of the core 14 are to be separated, the motor 164 is continuously rotating. Thus, the pulley 174 is continuously rotatmg.

When a cycle of operation of the termination station is desired to separate the strands of the wires 11 from each other and solder the separated strands to the carrier 17, the solenoid 188 is energized. It should be understood that the solenoid 188 is only energized when one of the ends of the wire 11 is properly positioned for engagement by the wire positioner assembly 197 and the wire-separating means 173. Thus, the control of the rotary index plate 19 and the solenoid 188 are correlated to each other through the control circuitry.

The energization of the solenoid 188 results in the clutch being actuated through the pawl 179 (see FIG. 22) engaging the ratchet wheel 180 on the pulley 174. This results in the camshaft 167 starting to rotate.

The initial rotation of the camshaft 167 results in the cam follower 193 of the cam 169 moving down from the high dwell of the cam slot in the cam 169 to move the slide 196 downwardly. As the slide 196 starts to move downwardly, the jaws 205 and 206 contact the wire 11, which is coming over the top surface of the core 14. The wire 11 is moved downwardly as the slide 196 continues to move downwardly whereby the jaws, due to engagement with the wire 11, clamp the wire 11 therebetween. The jaws 205 and 206 form the point of convergence of the strands of the wire 11 after they have been separated by the wire-separating means 173.

After the jaws 205 and 206 have clamped the wire 11 therebetween, the downward movement of the jaws 205 and 206, due to the slide 196 moving downwardly, pushes the wire 11 down along the outer surface ofthe core 14 until the closed 

1. An apparatus for helically winding a wire on a core, said apparatus including: an arcuate member to support the wire to be wound on the core, said arcuate member having spaced ends and being hollow to define a passage extending between said spaced ends; means to support the core between said spaced ends of said arcuate member so that said arcuate member may rotate through the core; means to rotate said arcuate member about its center; means to supply a predetermined length of the wire through the core and then into said passage in said arcuate member for support thereby by passing the wire through the core on said core support means and then into said passage in said arcuate member; means to prevent said arcuate member from rotating during supply of the predetermined length of wire to said arcuate member by said supply means; and said rotation means rotating said arcuate member about its center only after said supply means has supplied the predetermined length of the wire to said arcuate member, said rotation means simultaneously causing relative rotation between said arcuate member and said core support means about the center of the core supported on said core support means to helically wind the wire around the core whenever said rotation means is activated.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 including: means to fixedly retain a portion of the wire exterior of said arcuate member during rotation of said arcuate member; means to cut the wire; and means to cause said cutting means to be effective after winding of the core has been completed.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said simultaneous rotation means includes means to cause relative rotation between said arcuate member and said core support means about the center of the core by rotating only said core support means.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said arcuate member has resilient means acting on the wire to tightly wrap the wire on the core during rotation of said arcuate member.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means to stop said rotation means after a predetermined number of revolutions of said arcuate member about its center.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means to actuate said rotation means only aFter said supply means has been inactivated.
 7. An apparatus for helically winding a wire on a core, said apparatus including: an arcuate member to support the wire to be wound on the core, said arcuate member having spaced ends; means to support the core between the spaced ends of said arcuate member so that said arcuate member may rotate through the core; means to supply a predetermined length of the wire to said arcuate member for support thereby by passing the wire through the core on said core support means; means to rotate said arcuate member about its center, said rotation means simultaneously causing relative rotation between said arcuate member and said core support means about the center of the core supported on said core support means to helically wind the wire around the core; said arcuate member has a passage therein to receive the wire for support by said arcuate member; and said supply means includes: means to feed the wire from a supply source; first tubular means to receive the wire from said feed means; and second tubular means cooperating with said first tubular means to connect the first tubular means with one end of said passage in said arcuate member; said second tubular means being movable from a first position in which the core may be disposed on said core support means between the ends of said arcuate member for winding of the wire on the core to a second position in which said second tubular member is disposed adjacent said one end of said passage in said arcuate member.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7 in which: said feed means fixedly retains the wire during rotation of said arcuate member; and means to cut the wire between said feed means and said second tubular means after winding of the core has been completed.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means to indicate when said core support means has the core supported thereon.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means responsive to said arcuate member completing rotation about its center to prevent said simultaneous rotation means from rotating upon completion of rotation of said arcuate member about its center.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means to release a predetermined portion of a predetermined length of the wire supported by said arcuate member during each revolution of said arcuate member at a predetermined period of time during each revolution of said arcuate member.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said supply means includes means to fixedly retain a portion of the wire exterior of said arcuate member during rotation of said arcuate member.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12 including: means disposed between said supply means and said arcuate member along the path of the wire between said supply means and said arcuate member to cut the wire; and means to cause said cutting means to be effective after winding of the core has been completed.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 1 including discrete means to lock said arcuate member against rotation about its center upon completion of rotation of said arcuate member.
 15. An apparatus for helically winding a wire on a core, said apparatus including: an arcuate member to support the wire to be wound on the core, said arcuate member having spaced ends; means to support the core between the spaced ends of said arcuate member so that said arcuate member may rotate through the core; means to supply a predetermined length of the wire to said arcuate member for support thereby by passing the wire through the core on said core support means; means to rotate said arcuate member about its center, said rotation means simultaneously causing relative rotation between said arcuate member and said core support means about the center of the core supported on said core support means to helically wind the wire around the core; said arcuate member having Resilient means acting on the wire to tightly wrap the wire on the core during rotation of said arcuate member; and means cooperating with said resilient means to render said resilient means ineffective only at a predetermined position of said arcuate member during each revolution thereof.
 16. An apparatus for helically winding a wire on a core, said apparatus including: an arcuate member to support the wire to be wound on the core, said arcuate member having spaced ends; means to support the core between the spaced ends of said arcuate member so that said arcuate member may rotate through the core; means to supply a predetermined length of the wire through the core to said arcuate member for support thereby by passing the wire through the core on said core support means; means to rotate said arcuate member about its center after said supply means has supplied the predetermined length of the wire to said arcuate member, said rotation means simultaneously causing relative rotation between said arcuate member and said core support means about the center of the core supported on said core support means to helically wind the wire around the core; and means to indicate when said arcuate member is in its home position in which the spaced ends of said arcuate member are disposed so that the core is disposed therebetween after rotation of said arcuate member is completed.
 17. An apparatus for helically winding a wire on a core, said apparatus including: an arcuate member to support the wire to be wound on the core, said arcuate member having spaced ends; means to support the core between the spaced ends of said arcuate member so that said arcuate member may rotate through the core; means to supply a predetermined length of the wire through the core to said arcuate member for support whereby by passing the wire through the core on said core means; means to rotate said arcuate member about its center after said supply means has supplied the predetermined length of the wire to said arcuate member, said rotation means simultaneously causing relative rotation between said arcuate member and said core support means about the center of the core supported on said core support means to helically wind the wire around the core; means to prevent the predetermined length of the wire from being removed from support by said arcuate member; and means to render said preventing means ineffective during a predetermined portion of each revolution of said arcuate member to release a predetermined portion of the predetermined length of the wire during each revolution of said arcuate member. 